Modern Shanghai

Before you even think it... No, I wasn't on a trip!!!

I was with my friends. Mama June, Fides, Jojo and Sarita. It was Sarita's idea that we have lunch here.  And it wasn't a bad idea either. Modern Shanghai is a nondescript, well-appointed restaurant that serves updated Shanghainese food for the finicky diner of Chinese cuisine. 

You'll find it on the third floor of Glorietta 2. It's owned and operated by George Yang of McDonald's. I guess, it's their way of adding a new spin on their food empire. This one is a nice departure from burgers, though. Tastefully decorated and lit in amber tones, the restaurant looks really classy from outside. 

cold seaweed starter

Their food, needless to say, is GREAT! If you're not up on your Chinese cuisine... here's a little backgrounder. There are four types of Chinese cuisine: 1)Shanghai, 2)Beijing, 3)Cantonese and 4)Hainanese. Each cuisine has a specific quality that comes out when you try them. 

silken tofu in vinegar dip

Shanghai cuisine tends to be spicy as the region lies at the end of the silk road. Most of the travelers to China from the time of Marco Polo ended up in Shanghai where traders heaped up mounds and mounds of spices for trade or for sale. 

sweet and sour pork

Beijing cuisine has more of the herbs and aromatics mixed in their cuisine The region lies on the northeastern part of the Chinese continent where the climate is cold for most of the year. The food they cook up is mostly created from livestock and scented and flavored with lots of coriander and basil and garlic and ginger. Tasty, soupy cuisine and most of them has for the most part, warms the body on a cold day.

tofu in black vinegar sauce

Cantonese cuisine lies somewhere in the middle of the continent. There's more produce in this part of China. It only follows that the cuisine will include more vegetables and fruits. This takes into account the ingredients in most meals specially in the summer time when the produce is at its best quality.

shanghai fried rice

Hainanese cuisine is unique in that the region has a more temperate climate than the rest of the Chinese continent. The area lies at the southern portion of China's land mass. The cuisine therefore, includes a lot of sub-tropical ingredients... mostly peanuts.

steamed dumplings

Needless to say, the food in Modern Shanghai falls under the first category. But this restaurant makes it different in that the food is familiar but updated. No fusion here, though. It's Shanghai food with a modern slant. The menu offers a wide selection of viands from veggies to meats to seafood. Just look at the photos and you'll get an idea of what they have cooking in the kitchen. I enjoyed the food priced a little higher than the usual family restaurants down the halls. The servings are not too big but just right for five people to share. Worth a try... 

beef with leeks